The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts seeks presenters to provide interactive workshops for 15 to 25 participants in Grades 6-12 at its 6th annual STEM Conference and Expo, to be held March 18, 9AM-5PM at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel. This drop-off event is open to both members and non-members of the Girl Scouts. Potential presenters register here. This is one of many STEM activities offered by the GSEMA.
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Tuft’s CEEO: February Vacation Workshop on Game Design, Grades 3-5
Tuft’s Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) will offer a February vacation workshop on Game Design — both physical and digital — for students in Grades 3-5. It will be held February 20-23, 9AM-3PM at CEEO (200 Boston Avenue, Suite G810, in Medford). The cost is $400. Register here.
Correction: Winning FLL Team is from F.A. Day Middle AND Peirce Elementary
In last week’s FIRST LEGO League Eastern Massachusetts Championship, hosted by the LigerBots, the Day Dragons — the team that won the event’s top honor (the Champions’ Award for the best overall performance in each aspect of the competition) — consisted of four 7th graders from F. A. Day Middle School and two 5th graders from Peirce Elementary School. Last Sunday’s NewtonSTEM post lauded the Day students, and we now heartily congratulate the award-winning students from Peirce, as well!
7 Newton FLL Teams Compete at Eastern Mass. Championship; 4 Win Awards
Seven Newton-based FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics teams competed in the Eastern Massachusetts FLL State Championship, hosted by the Ligerbots at Newton North HS yesterday, and four of them won awards. The event drew a crowd of over 1,000 FLL team participants, coaches, mentors, volunteers, and spectators.
- The Day Dragons, a team of four 7th graders from F. A. Day Middle School and two 5th graders from Peirce Elementary School, won the top honor for the event — the Champions’ Award, for the best overall performance in each aspect of the competition. This includes the team’s performance in the robotics competition, the team’s presentation of research results in this year’s area of focus (Hydro Dynamics), and the team’s demonstration of FLL’s Core Values.
- The Botanists were part of the 1st-place alliance for the Lightning Round, in which teams are paired for collaboration in matches that run in half the time.
- The Block Party team earned the second-place Programming award.
- The Snowy Owls won the award for “Most Reliable Robot.”
Other Newton-based FLL teams that earned the right, in earlier qualifying events, to participate in the Eastern Massachusetts Championship were the Hydro-Dragons, the Newtronics, and the Roaming Rovers. Congratulations to all seven teams!
The LigerBots also hosted a maker fair that drew participation from such local groups as Destination Imagination, the New Art Center, Students for Greener World, and others. There was even a taste of Star Wars, with a Stormtrooper and Imperial Droid on hand!
Newton Free Library: STEM Events in January
The Newton Free Library will host the following STEM events in January:
- January 4: Scratch Club, 7-8PM, Grades 3-4. Space is limited. Pick up tickets 15 minutes beforehand at the Children’s Desk.
- January 8: Crazy 8s Math Club, 4-5PM, Grades K-2. Space is limited. Registration opens at 9AM on December 18. Register for all 8 sessions (January 8, 22, 29; February 5, 12, 26; March 5, 12).
- January 16: Animal Camouflage, 4-5PM, ages 3+.
- January 27: KIBO Robots, 10:30-11:30AM, Grades K-2. Space is limited to 8 children. Pick up tickets 15 minutes beforehand at the Children’s Desk.
Brainpickings: 7 Favorite Science Books of 2017
Maria Popova’s Brainpickings blog presents her picks for her seven favorite science books of 2017.
SUMIT Collaborative Event for Girls in Grades 9-10 Who Like Math, Feb. 3 & 4
SUMIT is a fun, mathematically intense, fully collaborative, all-day, large-scale math collaboration for girls in Grades 6-10 who like math. It’s hosted annually by Girls Angle, a math club for girls in Cambridge. SUMIT is not a competition but is a collaborative math/theater event in which participants must self-organize and overcome math challenges toward a common overall goal. Participants do not need any experience in math and should simply bring an enjoyment of thinking about math and an open mind.
This year, there will be two separate sessions, each running 8:45AM to 4:30PM at the Broad Institute in Cambridge. Girls can sign up for either February 3 or February 4, as grade-specific space is available. Currently there is still room for girls in Grades 9-10. A wait list is available for grades that are filled. The $50 fee will be waived for students demonstrating financial need. Register here. For more information, email girlsanglesumit@gmail.
Newton Schools Foundation Annual Appeal Supports STEM Programs
You can donate to the Newton Schools Foundation Annual Appeal to support these STEM initiatives in the Newton Public Schools:
The Calculus Project aims to narrow the achievement gap in mathematics and increase the number of African American, Hispanic, and low-income students who complete calculus in high school. Rising seventh and eighth graders participate in small-group intensive summer instruction in mathematics and related workshops to gain academic skills and confidence, followed by after-school tutoring during the school year.
The DaVinci Program Newton South HS is a project-based collaborative approach to learning science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Students build skills in experimentation, analytical problem solving, collaboration, presentation, communication, and artistic representation through authentic and student-driven learning.
The Middle School Engineering and Sustainable Energy Generation curriculum focuses on new blade design for wind turbines to engage students in hands-on STEM projects at all four middle schools.
Science and Society is an interdisciplinary senior elective in science and history at Newton North HS using case studies to explore how science has changed and responded to society over time. Studies include the development of the atomic bomb, DNA and how it connects to identity and medical innovation, germ theory and the development of public health, biological evolution, environmental history, the development of modern cities, and the science of race.
The Ligerbots robotics club engages students, teacher coaches, and parent mentors from both Newton North and Newton South High Schools to provide students with challenges that foster interest and skills in STEM and create the next generation of scientists, inventors, and engineers.
Science Emporium: Holiday Shopping Party, Dec. 19
e, Inc.‘s Science Emporium, in the Charlestown Navy Yard (114 Sixteenth Street, Charlestown), invites the public to its special holiday shopping hours, December 19, 4-7:30PM, for refreshments and a 5% discount on science toys, games, books, and gifts for all ages.
LigerBots to Host Eastern Mass. State FLL Championship at NNHS, Dec. 16
The LigerBots will host the Eastern Massachusetts FLL State Championship, a FIRST LEGO League robotics competition for 300 Massachusetts students in Grades 4-8 on Saturday, December 16, 9AM-3PM, at Newton North HS. It’s free and open to the public. The theme of this year’s competition is Hydro Dynamics (see video). Forty-eight teams earned the right to compete in the championship via their performance in earlier qualifying events. They will use LEGO robots they have designed, built, and programmed to perform complex tasks. The public may also view the teams’ displays of their solutions to real-world problems related to the water-based theme. There will also be a maker fair with hands-on STEM activities for kids and a “RoboPalooza” exhibit of robots from First Robotics Competitions and FIRST Tech Challenges.